Tupperware Tuesday: Karma’s First Cache!

Today was a very special caching day for me. It was the first time Karma came geocaching! She is officially a “GeoDog” now. She even has her own “Karma GeoDog TB Tag” and everything! She has snuggled into our hearts and our family quite well. The cats crawl over, under and around her and she just wags. Things on the home front have been going so well, that we thought it was time for a “trail test”. Walking on a leash is not one of her strong points. Getting this down is going to take lots of work for all of us. But for a first time out with all of the distractions of other people, dogs and the sights and smells of the great outdoors, she did better than I had hoped. She pulls uphill spectacularly! It’s the dragging the human downhill game that we really need to work on! Tide and Clorox2 are indeed two of my best friends these days!

Dog training while geocaching can really put the hurt on the number of caches you can get to in a day. Geocaching is a great way to combine training, exercise and bonding time with a new dog. However, the added responsibilities and distractions did indeed cause me to walk past a few geocaches, more than once, before something caught my eye. The first cache of the day was a perfect example. The dog was sniffing it before I even saw it! Vietnam Induced Nostalgia (GC1NP8N) by Subman123 was the last puzzle I had to find in Ft. Steilacom Park. The park is 340 acres of scenic trails, baseball, soccer & softball fields, a state-of-the-art playground, off-leash dog park & new picnic shelter. The scenic part is disappearing fast as the city makes more money from soccer and softball fields than it does from old growth tree stands. I’m trying to enjoy it as much as possible while it lasts. It does however, feel pretty good to have the park cleared off of my caching to-do list.

Next we ventured into the town of Steilacoom and visited a few caches in Farrell Marsh Park. Farrell Marsh Park is a 64-acre wildlife refuge that borders the Fort Lewis Military base. I found it ironic that the first two caches found here are titled Quiet Time # 1: Mossy Trees(GC11W12) and Quiet Time # 3: The Waters Edge(GC11X3Z) by Pitonman. Artillery would randomly fire thought the course of our visit and it is anything but quiet during those moments. This is a beautiful little place that is trying so hard to stay wild.

Most of the wildlife stayed hidden. Whether that was due to the noise, or the dog, I am not sure. We did get to watch two Pileated Woodpeckers feed for quite a long time. They were beautiful. Pileated woodpecker sightings are getting rarer all the time. As urban spaces are now dominating the once green open ones, they are either moving further out or reducing in number. Karma was fascinated by them, but made no attempt to do anything but watch. That was a surprise to me, as I see her run around the back-yard flushing anything that moves in the trees on a regular basis. It was like she to knew that this was important and not to be missed.

The other geocache find of the day was a bit disturbing. Mad Max Beyond Steilacoom (GCRFA5) by sir2u, seems to be being muggled regularly. This one has been solved and sitting in my “Someday I’ll get over there file.” for over a year. Sometimes those “somedays” turn into never really quickly as caches get archived regularly or often are simply muggled into submission, never to be found again. I’m hoping this puzzle survives. It is a great example of a visual puzzle. I learned a lot about how I limit my own thinking from this puzzle and it has made me a better cacher I think.

To end this great day I have completed the last two requirements for my first geocaching challenge! It is An Alphabet Soup Challenge for Washington (GCYP7T) by ohjoy!. I only needed a “Q” and a “V” and found caches begining with those letters today. Next! A three mile Multi-Cache to sign the log! I’ll keep you posted!

Ok, now on to the fridge… I think there is still a couope of Papa Murphy’s pizza slices left… what the heck. I’ve earned a few extra calories today! Happy Caching!

Tupperware Tuesday

So, tell me .. How was your “Tupperware Tuesday”? To find out more and how to participate, follow this link: “Tupperware Tuesday”. If you love geocaching, we’d love to hear from you! Please feel welcome to chime in with your comments or this weeks caching highlight. Can’t wait to read what you found today!